SWNOVELS Chapter 10
The arena is the oldest building in the school, it's as old as the school itself. It's a circular structure made of grey stone and the seats are made of the same rough material, they are very uncomfortable to sit on. The ground is covered in soft, green grass and divided into two equally big sections. Going up six meters, is rows of seats for the spectators. The rows gets wider the higher it goes. The building doesn't have a ceiling and the sun's rays are currently burning the top of my head.
The first match is between the first years, Jason and another of his classmates face off against each other. I've always felt a lot of tension watching fights because I don't like violence. But I watch because I want to support Jason. I breathe out a loud sigh of relief when he wins and qualifies for the next round.
Next is the second set of first years, a girl and a guy. I don't watch the fight because I don't have to. I put in my earphones and crank the volume up. The fights keep going on and I can tell when it's getting intense because the spectators react accordingly. When it's time for the second set of third years, I pause my music.
"It's Jamie's turn. I am not missing this." Paisley leans forward.
"Who's that guy he's up against?" I'm referring to the muscled lad he's about to face.
"That's Viktor Hendrix, he's one of the best combatants in third year," Michelle says. "This will be interesting." It wasn't. Jamie beat him in the shortest time so far in the tournament. Glad to know he's not letting Kat overtake his thoughts. The other competitions go on and there's a little break before the winner's matches start.
"Will you judge me if I say I regret coming here?" I heave.
"That's because it's your first, you'll get used to them," Axel promises.
Doubt that. During the break, I watch Kat in the special box. She's seating between her dad and Mika. Both she and Max look tense. I don't think they've talked since they sat down.
The break ends and we get on with the tournament. The first-year competition begins with Jason and the girl that won the second match. Jason emerges victorious and I frown. I like him, I do. It's just hearing he might like me kind of ruined our relationship. For fear of leading him on, I started ignoring him. And now I hate him for making everything uncomfortable. Then I scold myself for having these thoughts, why do I always make everything complicated?
The second years do their contest and some girl named Delia wins. Then it's time for the third years, it's Jamie and another guy in his class. "Who is that?" I ask Michelle.
"That is Gregori Opal, there's been some debate as to who is the best in third year, him or Jamie. Today we're going to find out." She explains.
The fight starts and not long after, Jamie is dealt a heavy blow. There are some murmurs as people ask each other if he's going to recover from it. He's about to get another one but he blocks it with the hilt of his sword. He looks up and his lip is bleeding.
I watch Kat and she's gripping the arm of her chair. The heavy clack of blade against blade makes me nauseous. Jamie is fighting with a sword, Gregori with a double.
Gregori manages to cut Jamie's arm. "Can he do that?" I don't think I understand the rules of a duel. "Back home, that's considered mutiny."
"As long as he doesn't concede, everything goes," Sara explains.
I watch the tournament in horror. He manages to hit Gregori but the latter doesn't so much as shake. "What is Princess Katya doing?" Axel asks, we all turn to her and she's typing something on her phone. "She's probably composing her breakup text to Jamie for embarrassing her with his loss."
"He hasn't lost yet, Axel. Don't be a twat." Paisley calls him out.
The fight goes on, it's not looking good for Jamie. He's bleeding and having trouble standing straight. He lunches at Gregori but he docks out of the way, causing Jamie to fall on the grass. Just when I'm about to accept his loss, he uses his legs to trip Gregori. The latter falls to the floor, Jamie quickly recovers and twists his arms, detaining him on the ground. He only stops when Gregori yells in pain and concedes.
Jamie lets him go and jumps to his feet, he offers Gregori his hand but the latter slaps it away and storms off the arena grounds. Jamie stares at Kat for a second too long before storming off the arena himself. He won but doesn't look too happy about it. The rest of the tournament goes without a hitch. That fight was the highlight of the game. A girl whose name I don't remember wins for the fourth years and Dimitri, as expected, wins for the fifth years.
"I need to sort something out with the receptionist," I tell my friends. "She's helping me with my citizenship ID." They're all too busy talking about the fights to pay me much attention. I slip away.
I call Kat but she doesn't pick, I call Grey next. "Hey, where are you?" I ask him.
"We're in Avan's office. Uncle Max is leaving soon, he was just asking about you. He changed his flight to tonight." Grey tells me.
"Okay, I'm on my way there." I pause. "Where is there?"
"Avan has one in the administrative building, that's where we are. Although it will be close to impossible to get in now. The front is swamped."
"I'll manage, just do me a favor and tell the guards to expect me." I plead.
"I'll think about it." He says before cutting the call. I take a leap of faith by believing he'll come through for me and go to the administrative building. The place really is swarmed, I elbow my way to the front and get the attention of one of the guards.
"I'm expected in the building," I tell her. "My name is Cassandra Flores." She shakes her head and says she's not allowed to let anyone in. Screw you, Grey. One of her colleagues hears this and asks me to confirm my name. When I do, he lets me in. Thank you, Grey.
I search the first (Ugh, British English) floor for Avan's office. Inside is Grey, his mom and Max. Max and Avan are laughing about something.
"It was a good game. It really was, and that one with Jamison and Gregori, I was on the edge of my seat." Max is saying.
Avan notices me. "Hello, how did you get in? Students aren't allowed in the building right now."
"She's a friend of Kat's, Avan," Grey says, letting me in.
On cue, Kat walks in. I get a full look at her outfit, she went with the brown plaid dress, good for her.
"Kat, you're here. Why did you take so long?" Her dad asks.
"I was looking for Jamie, couldn't find him anywhere. Thought maybe he's here." Kat says.
"I wish you got here earlier. My flight leaves soon." He says to her.
She rolls her eyes. "It's a private jet dad, it leaves when you want it to."
He sighs. "Do you want to escort me to the airport? We can talk more there."
She shrugs. "Why not, can I go?" She asks Lilian.
"Do whatever you want," Lilian replies in an indifferent tone.
Max and Avan straighten themselves. Max shakes his hands briskly. "Thank you, Avan, I'm starting to understand your decision to retire from the army early and go into training these kids."
Avan frowns. "Really?"
"No, I will never understand your life choices." Max says. "But you're one of my oldest friends and I choose to respect them."
Avan smiles. "Thank you, General. Feel free to come visit anytime you like."
Max nods at Lilian and embraces Grey in a one-arm hug. "I'm proud of you for getting into the Blue rose. Keep up the good work, soldier." He hasn't gotten in yet.
"Thanks, Uncle max, stay safe in Malone," Grey says to him.
Max then moves on to me. "And you." He says in a low voice. "Fitting into royal life isn't easy but hiding won't do you any good. Nevertheless, I support your decision, when it's time, you'll know. If you need anything just call me, it was nice meeting you, Cassandra." He shakes my hand.
"It was nice meeting you, General." He really is a pleasant person.
He says the next part in an extra low voice. "And please keep an eye on my Kat for me, something tells me she's going to need it these coming months."
I'm sure I'll find out soon enough what he means. He opens the door and lets his daughter out first. They both leave the room and he closes the door behind them.
"If you'll all excuse me, I need to get back to my challenges," Grey says. "Avan, mum, amazing day." He turns to me. "Cass." He then leaves the room.
"I should also get going, wonderful day," I say to the two of them.
"Cassandra." Lilian stops me. "My office, I'd like a word with you."
Great. "Sure, Lilian." We get to her office and she opens the door using her powers. The lights switch-on as she walks in and she heads for her desk.
I take the opposite seat and wait for her to begin. "Cassandra, I've been feeling like...like I owe you an apology." She surprises me by saying. "I want you to know that, I don't have anything against you personally. Just the idea of you, I don't know if you can understand that." I do, if I found out that my husband cheated on me while I was taking care of our four-month-old baby, I'd be pretty pissed. Not with the child, with him. "I had no right to take my anger out on you and I want you to know that I'm truly sorry."
I nod. "Does that mean I'm allowed to leave school now?"
She shakes her head. "Absolutely not, keeping you here isn't a punishment. I don't want what you do out there to haunt you in the future. But if you want, when you're ready. You can spend a weekend at our manor."
"Thank you, Lilian."
Her smile is forced. "Director Lilian." She corrects. "And I think it's for the best you're being kept a secret. Now isn't the time to tell people who you are."
"I understand, I haven't told anybody." Except Mika. "And I told my friends Sebastian is just an old family friend. They started asking questions."
She rearranges her desk. "I heard from professor Harding that you're improving. That's good to hear." There's a thickening silence in the room. "Well I shouldn't hold you, you probably have a lot of things to do."
"Thank you, director Lilian." I head for the door. "Goodbye." I leave the room and make my way out of the building, it's completely clear. No security ops, no students, no black SUVs. It's almost like Max was never here. I arrive at the dining hall and am swept up by all the celebrations and cheers.
I search for where my friends are sitting and join them after I've gotten food. "This place is crazy."
"It's a good day for the winners," Sara says. "It's all anyone's talking about, it's trending all over the school website."
"That's good," I eat my spaghetti. "I cannot handle this level of excitement, my social anxiety is at an all-time high."
Paisley laughs. "Well, it's about to get even higher cause first-year's resident golden boy has his eyes on you."
I turn and see Jason, there's a crowd of people around him. He sees me and smiles charmingly.
"I'm going to go congratulate him," Axel stands up. "Does anyone want to come?" He directs this at me and I shake my head. "All right, make him come to you." He laughs and goes to say hi to Jason.
I keep eating, aware of preying eyes on me. Jason eventually gets up from his seat and walks over to me. "Hey." He's standing over my shoulder.
"Hey," I look up at him. "I've been meaning to tell you congratulations on your win today, I watched the whole thing."
He laughs. "That, yeah it was fun." He says like it was nothing. "I'm glad you enjoyed it cause I want to ask you something. To celebrate I'm going out to Waverly's tomorrow. Do you want to come?"
I hiss. "I can't leave school till my ID is sorted out, sorry." Thank you, Lilian.
"Oh, okay screw Waverly's. What are you doing tomorrow?" He asks.
"I have assignments due Monday, I'm going to be at the library for hours tomorrow." That isn't a lie, I have an assignment, but it isn't due Monday. It's still nice to get a headstart.
"Perfect." He announces. "With all the training these last few days, I'm been behind on my school work. We can do ours together." Did he plan this?
I turn to my friends. "Anyone up for spending Sunday at the library."
"Nope, plans just coincidentally popped up for all of us," Paisley says.
"I'll see you at the library by noon then." Jason declares.
"I can't think of a reason why not."